For years it has been known that Toledo has been one of the top cities nationally for sex trafficking.

When 105 teens were rescued across the country from prostitution, it didn’t come as a surprise to some people in Northwest Ohio.

But, if the rescue was tough, the transition to a normal life is even tougher.”Some of these girls have been abused months, days, even years by family members or traffickers. And that’s something you don’t just overcome overnight,” says Jeff Wilbarger, founder of “the daughter project.”

Perrysburg based “The Daughter Project” was designed to provide a transitional home where young women rescued from trafficking can live in a safe place. Inside the house, are house mothers who act like moms to girls who sometimes have no one.

Gaining trust is often the first step to helping the girls. In addition to counseling, victims are home schooled and taught life skills.

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The training covered the shelter’s support and protection to victims to ensure proper housing, counselling, medical, psychological and material assistance, keeping in mind the special needs of different victims.

Established in 2007, the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children is the first licensed non-profit shelter in the UAE for women and children victims of domestic violence, child abuse, and human trafficking.

The foundation offers victims immediate protection and support services in accordance with international human rights obligations, including a helpline, emergency shelter, and support services to women and children victims.

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The UAE’s support network for victims of human trafficking is debating the idea of opening a shelter for men, but no decision has not been taken yet, according to a local newspaper.

Ewa’a Shelters for Women and Children, which operates in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah for victims of human trafficking, wants to be ready to serve any adult men who need help, Maitha Al Mazroui, development and follow-up manager for Ewa’a, was quoted as saying by Abu Dhabi’s The National daily.

“We heard many people ask, �Why don’t you have a place for men?’ If there is a need, we’ll open.” The proposal is still in a preliminary stage and is being discussed by the Ewa’a board of directors, Al Mazroui said.

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Advocates for children who have been victims of sex trafficking say the Legislature handed them an “incomplete and underfunded victory.”

They had asked for $13.5 million to pay for housing and services for underage victims. The Legislature allocated $2.8 million, about a fifth of what they were seeking.

On any given night, 50 shelter beds are needed, and this will pay for about seven, said Lee Roper-Batker of the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota.

“Our hearts are very heavy because we know there are 43 children who we can’t get off the streets, who we can’t get them health and services they need,” Roper-Batker said. “What we feel from our law enforcement partners is they are beyond frustrated and feel incredible anguish because these girls just disappear into the night again.

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The UAE’s centre for victims of human trafficking received during the past four years 166 women and children.

The centre operates under the umbrella of the Red Crescent Authority and coordinates with the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking. It provides medical and psychological care for the victims, legal and social assistance, and vocational training programmes to help them start a new phase in their life.

The shelter in Abu Dhabi, set up in 2008, received 126 victims, the centre’s branch in Sharjah, which began operations in 2011, received 22 victims, while the centre in Ras Al Khaimah has cared for 18 victims since 2011.

Ricky Martin visited the construction site of the first phase of the Tau Center for child-trafficking victims and sexually exploited minors in Loiza, a town on Puerto Rico’s northern coast, the singer’s agent said Monday.

“Construction has now begun and we have a lot of confidence that we can achieve our goal of having the Tau Center completed by the first quarter of 2014. Visiting the premises where our building is going up was a satisfying experience that filled me with the energy to keep going,” the Puerto Rican superstar said.

The Ricky Martin Foundation made an initial investment of $1.3 million for the construction of the first phase of the center.

“We see over 200 women a year at the shelter, almost all of whom are coming out of sex trafficking. The process of recovery is not a simple one. In even the best of cases justice against the traffickers is often out of our hands and it can take years to be won.

What we hear is that the women feel valued, useful and truly happy because of what they learn. The qualification that the women earn shows them the worth of their efforts and new skills, and is a powerful and affirming step to a working life in the Netherlands.

My hope is that one day our efforts will result in me no longer having a job. Right now, we must do all that we can to bring opportunities for normal jobs and normal lives and enable those once exploited to be free again.”

– Mil

While we have created training opportunities for 18 survivors, we still have 26 women desperate for critical care on the waiting list. Without training these women face the worst possible scenario, being re-trafficked. By May 1, we need to raise $50,000 to ensure that these women can live lives free of exploitation. Without your help, we will be forced to turn them away.

Give today to end the wait list for our help. Raise hope for Amsterdam.

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There’s a safe house in west-central Montana, where young women, victims of sex trafficking, have a place to go where they will be protected, loved, and rehabilitated.

One of those women is “Adrianne,” who said, “It’s amazing. It’s a wonderful thing. Firstly, like two months ago, I didn’t know I was going to be alive. Two months ago, I didn’t know I was going to have a family.”

Rick and Pat are that family unlike any she has known.

Adrianne was sexually abused from an early age by her own adoptive family and sold as a sex slave at age 11.

Rick and Pat took her in just a few months ago, becoming a foster family to her and other young women in the home who have experienced the pain, humiliation, and dehumanization that is sex trafficking.

Rick said, “I think the biggest thing is helping them realize their value.”

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Beth Saxton places flowers in a room at the All Things New House on Tuesday, April 2, 2013. The facility is a Christian safe house for women victimized by the sex trafficking trade. Photo: Billy Calzada, San Antonio Express-News

For decades, a two-story convent sheltered nuns ministering in the city’s impoverished neighborhoods.

By month’s end, the old building will open up to women working to be free of sex trafficking.

Its six bedrooms have brand-new linens, comforters and pillows. Each has a personal sink and space for cribs. The floors have new carpet.

The convent-turned-safe-house is the handiwork of All Things New, a Christian ministry based in Oklahoma City and founded by Linda Caswell in 2008. She’s relocating headquarters here and joining a countywide effort to combat the sex trade.

“It’s been a lot of work but I’ve seen so much of the community of San Antonio pull together to make this happen,” said Caswell, 59, herself prostituted years ago. “It is a realization of a dream.”

A second unit is set for completion here in June. The facilities are believed to be the city’s only residences solely dedicated to help this population. Referrals will come from law enforcement agencies and other authorities nationwide, she said.